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Efficient Poultry Housing 



BY 



G. J. SIMMONDS 



Illustrated with Plans, Drawings and Photographs by the Author 



(Copyrighted 1913 by G. J. Simmonds. All rights reserved. Any infringements will be rigorously prosecuted) 



-uii^MBnii^^ini^^— u 



PUBLISHED BY 

WHITE BIRD FARM 
cTMANETTE, WASH. 




This house was built of scrap lumber. In it 500 chicks and hen- 
mothers are cared for in less than 45 minutes daily 



S(£> 




Interior view, showing doors in two sections an'S work table in 

center. Cards giving information about date of hatch, 

etc., can be seen on each doot" 



©CI.A3 4 6910 



Introduction 

The principle underlying Efficient Poultry Housing may be described as intensive 
care and extensive range. It demands that the labor of caring for poultry shall be 
concentrated in as small a space as is consistent with freedom to work properly in 
order that labor may be reduced to the least possible amount consistent with health 
and comfort of poultry. 

Heretofore, the long, narrow house with a hallway in the rear and long, narrow 
yards running off from each pen, where separate matings are necessary, has been the 
standard type of intensive poultry culture on a large scale. Standing at one end of 
this hallway, one sees the lines of the walls gradually converge to a little speck at 
the farther end as if one were looking at infinity down the Corridors of Time, and one 
could not help but have pity for the attendant who reached the remote end only to 
find he had forgotten something at the starting point. Nor could one look at the 
breeding pens in long narrow yards with freedom to move in only one direction, with- 
out a feeling of how different this artificial environment was from that of the Callus 
bankiva in the jungles of India and the Asiatic Islands. And this feeling was sure to 
result in a better understanding of infertility in hatching eggs and lack of vitality in 
the few chicks hatched from eggs from such matings. But the unsuitability of such 
houses for breeding stock was soon recognized and so-called "colony houses" were 
erected, scattered over many acres and involving so much labor in caring for the 
birds that frequently financial disaster resulted. Recognizing how large and impor- 
tant a factor labor is in poultry curture, breeders found that large flocks were prac- 
tical and that they did away with much unnecessary labor. Elated at their success 
with large flocks, one farm boasted of the fact that with units of 500 layers, one man 
could attend to the 2,000 fov/ls in four houses without assistance, but qualified it by 
saying that he was an unusual man. Another farm, which was the first to demonstrate 
the practicability of putting 1,500 layers in one flock, had three men constantly em- 
ployed to care for 2,000 layers and the necessary chicks, incubators, breeders, etc., to 
produce them. About the only progress that has been made in labor saving m.ethods, 
excluding appliances, has been in increasing the size of flocks. The old, long house or 
scattered colony houses are still "sine qua non" of the poultry farm. In either case 
the labor of caring for poultry is from, three to ten times what it should be. 

Even with the adoption of the excellent room brooding system, separate houses 
are installed for each brooder and the labor of caring for the chicks, where room 
brooders are numerous, is much more than it need be. While chicks in small flocks 
in outdoor brooders require unremitting care, they are also very likely to be neglected 
in inclement weather. Fireless brooders, used under any of the present systems of 
housing, are practical only where one values one's time at not to exceed ten cents an 
hour. To brood with hens on any scale worth while under any of the systems that 
have come under the writer's observation, requires constant attention from early 
morning until late at night and, even then, it is doubtful if the reward is at all com- 
mensurate with the labor expended in this manner on a commercial plant. 

In the matter of sunlight, only the houses that are square, or nearly so, provide 
for admission of much sunlight and even these do not get what is possible. When a 
long house faces the South, it is late morning in summer before the sunlight enters it 
and several hours before sunset when the light ceases to be of any benefit to the in- 
terior. And, of course, houses that face the East or the West do not get necessary 



sunlight. The problem of "open air fronts," "curtain fronts," "closed fronts," "glass- 
and muslin fronts" or what-not is one confronting every locality in order to obtain 
adequate ventilation and none is satisfactory in every respect. When cold winds blow 
into open front houses, birds are driven from four to ten feet back into the interior and 
cease to enjoy that comfort essential to best results. Moreover their owner must buy 
excess food to keep up bodily temperature and the possible winter egg yield is re- 
duced proportionately. When curtains are used, the interior is dark, frequently damp 
and never cheerful when it is necessary to lower them. 

Contrast with any of the methods cursorily mentioned above or with which you 
may be familiar, the Efficient Poultry Houses described on subsequent pages. The al- 
most round house with its feed and work room in the center from which all the fowls 
can be fed in a very few minutes without opening a single door; the diverging yards 
that grow in width as they do in length; the range that is limited only by the amount 
of land at the disposal of the builder and that cannot become contaminated; the adap- 
tibility of these houses to any system of brooding so that it may be followed with far 
less labor than with any other house used today; the ease with which poultry can be 
cared for and the comfort they can enjoy during the stormiest weather; the free ad- 
mission of sunlight at any time from sunup to sundown and its penetration during the 
day to all parts of the house; the perfect ventilation and freedom from drafts; the 
great amount of cubic feet of air space; the warmth in winter and the coolness in sum- 
mer; the absolute freedom from lice and mites; the ease with which nests may be 
cleaned and replenished and with which the eggs may be gathered ; the twelve-bush- 
el hoppers, for large laying houses, that can be filled in a moment, that cannot clog 
and from which fowls cannot waste food; the rat-proof, durable, cheap construction; 
the possibility of placing from one to twenty room brooders under one roof which 
means, in one concrete example, that one man can care for 10,000 chicks and market a 
thousand live broilers every week in a season while, at the same time, he attends the 
breeders necessary to their production, and he need not work over eight hours a day, 
— these advantages of Efficient Poultry Housing, not to mention others that will be 
noticed by the reader, entitle this method to the praise given by many experienced 
poultrymen when they have said it means a revolution in poultry culture. 

In giving this book to the public, it does not consist in offering for sale numerous 
pounds of paper impressed with ink from numerous ems of type. It is the sale of a 
big idea and several smaller ones. The invention and practical trying out of this 
method have cost the author considerable time and money and it is expected that pur- 
chasers of this book will respect the author's rights and their own when they are asked 
to loan it to others. By the time this book reaches the reader, application will have 
been made for patents on several appliances herein described and it is only the pur- 
chaser who is entitled to make or have them made, and then for only his own use. 
This right the purchaser has now and will still have after patents may be issued, but 
he may not transfer the right, although, of course, he is not debarred from disposing 
of any of his appliances with his business, should he desire to sell it. In this connec- 
tion, attention is called to the certificate on the next to the last page of this book. 



Page Four 



PART I 

Efficient Housing 

For the person who cannot see the wisdom of doing one hour's work to save a hun- 
dred, if there be such person, this book is not intended, nor should one become discour- 
aged when loooking at the seemingly intricate drawings. From a structural stand- 
point, Efficient Poultry Houses are only a series of simply constructed sections, all ex- 
actly alike. The necessity of making the drawings complete in detail has burdened 
them with matter not usually found in such plans and the circles and angles look 
very forbidding at first. But for all horizontal pieces in the Brooder House, there is 
only one bevel and it is as easily cut as a square corner. The foundations for these 
houses may be more easily and accurately laid out than for those with rectangular 
corners. It is only necessary for one to remember that he is building a series of sec- 
tions which, if corners are the right distance from the center, must "come out right" 
in the end. The author is not by any means a carpenter. Yet the first Efficient house 
he built was made out of scrap lumber, built without any plans whatsoever except a 
mental conception of what was needed and it proved to be by far the best house the 
author had built up to that time. At this writing it is not full, but it contains 360 
chicks with twelve hen mothers, and they require less than forty minutes of the au- 
thor's time daily to be cared for properly and to thrive and grow like weeds after a 
warm rain. Although unusual, the construction is simple. To build the first house, 
will require a little more time than an ordinary rectangular house, but the material 
required for a given amount of floor space is much less than for long houses. For 
instance, the material and labor required to construct the sixty-six foot laying house 
will cost in Western Washington $800, including all interior equipm.ent, or forty 
cents a hen for 2,000 layers. When the writer remembers how a thrifty poultryman 
on the shore of Puget Sound, told in a poultry paper how he had combed the beach 
for driftwood and had built therefrom poultry houses for layers at a cost of only 
fifty cents a head, the writer is forced to smile. 

Efficient Poultry Houses should not be built in damp hollows, on damp ground or 
on heavy clay soil. Choose, rather, a well drained site slightly elevated to afford rapid 
and efficient drainage. Each house should be built in the center of the plot allotted 
to it to afford an opportunity for runs on all sides. Orchards are ideal places for poul- 
try. They help the poultry and the poultry helps them. 

Having decided on your site, prepare for watering your fowls. If possible, pipe 
water into your house so you will never have to carry a drop of it to your fowls. The 
labor saved will more than pay for the piping and interior founts in a year and will 
pay for the entire system in a short time. If your runs are very large, pipe water into 
them as well. 

Now proceed with your building. What size house you shall build or how you 
shall fit up the interior will depend upon what branch of poultry culture you wish 
to follow. With the exception of Plate I, all the drawings show the houses arranged 
with their fullest capacity for a given purpose. You may use a certain number of 
sections for breeding pens, others for chicks, others for layers, etc. These are matters 
for each individual to decide according to his needs. These houses are as elastic as 
rubber bands ; they will fit any condition or requirement. 

Should you desire houses of different sizes from those given herein, a little study 
of the plans will enable you to draw other plans for any size house you may wish. 

Page Five 



Attention is called particularly to the advantage gained by having sunlight enter 
all parts of the house, and to the ease with which the houses are ventilated. In cold 
weather, the windows in the dome may be' opened only a trifle and the foul air will 
be sucked out promptly. In the summer when the v/indows and doors in the walls 
and those in the dome are opened, there is a constant circulation and the houses are 
cool and com.fortable. On one particularly warm day, the writer went into his brood- 
er house expecting to find the atmosphere very warm because of the low walls and 
outer roof, but the house was cool and comfortable. The warm air goes out through 
the dome windows at once and the cool air enters through the little doors and win- 
dows in the walls, with the result that the house is not only alwaj's cool in summer, 
but it is also constantly supplied with fresh air. Novice and professional poultry- 
men alike have all remarked the excellence of the method of ventilation and its abso- 
lute freedom from drafts. Not long ago, the writer was in an open front house that 
faced the South. The southwest winds that prevail in this locality had blown the 
rain in on the litter and it was a wet, soggy, ill-smelling, disgusting mass. The 
writer could not help making a mental contrast of this unhealthful condition and the 
dry, cheerful, sanitary state in which is always found in an Efficient Poultry House. 

Attention is also called to the feed and work room in the center of the small 
house and the feeding platform in the center of the large house. From these two van- 
tage points most of the work is done. Under the feeding platform should be stored 
tools, egg cases, and the like. With the food hoppers only six inches above and one 
foot from the platform, it requires only a few moments to fill them. In the winter 
months, when it is necessary to feed grain by hand, one simply throws the grain to 
the fowls from the edge of the platform and fifteen minutes is ample time to do this 
leisurely. Moreover, it is not necessary to carry grain long distances through nu- 
merous doors and gates. Green food hoppers are placed between the nests and when 
it is necessary to feed green food indoors, it is wheeled up the incline to the platform 
and forked into the hoppers in a few minutes. Again there is no carrying food long 
distances through numerous gates and doors. 

However, the many good features of this system of construction are so apparent 
to one who studies the plans a few moments that further mention of them will not be 
made here, beyond adding that the 66-foot house has, in actual floor space and in the 
room on roosts, running boards to nests and food hoppers, etc., a little over 5,000 
square feet, which is ample for 2,000 layers if no partitions are used. 



Page Six 




The above diagram illustrates how the yards may be alternated to provide poul- 
try with a constant supply of green food and how the Brooder House, described on 
subsequent pages, may be adapted to a small plant on a city or suburban lot. The 
large yard between the two breeding pens will be noted. It may be in cultivation 
while the fowls are occupying the yards on each side. When these become barren, or 
nearly so, the fence to the left of the lane may be moved to divide the large yard 
into two smaller ones and the barren ones may then be cultivated. It will be seen 
that this system of rotation may be followed for all the other yards and thus save 
fencing and the presence of a dividing fence in the lot that is being cultivated. 

As will be seen, any system of brooding the chicks may be used that the indi- 
vidual prefers. When the three sections next to the breeding pens are all occu- 
pied with chicks and new hatches are coming on, the oldest chicks may be moved 
into one of the sections to the right of entrance way. If three broods are put in one 
section, they will have larger yard space at the age when they require it. 

Assuming thirty chicks are placed in each small run to begin with, and one 
hundred chicks at three weeks old are placed in one full section, 600 chicks can be 
raised to broiler age every eight weeks or 200 pullets may be selected from the 600 
and raised to maturity. The house is large enough to accommodate 200 layers eas- 
ily when all partitions between sections are removed, or from 120 to 160 breeders di- 
vided among the eight sections. 

Page Seven 






GROUND 



PLAN 




Scale 

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CLCVATION 



Page Eight 



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Sec TfON //V DETAIL ' 'a ... i . .. . l, .., . . ,J I f 



Efficient Brooder House 

32 feet in diameter. 



BILL OF MATERIALS. 

10 stakes (optional). 
1 piece wire, 16 ft. 6 in. long. 

WITH CEMENT FLOOR. 

Cement, 6 bbls. 
Sand, 5 cu. yds. 
Asphaltum, 4^ gals. 

1. 8 pieces 2x4 in. x 12 ft. 

WITH BOARD FLOOR. 

2. 8 pieces, 2x4 in. x 16 ft, 

3. 25 " 2x4 in. x 10 ft. 

4. Flooring for 600 sq. ft. 

WITH EITHER FLOOR. 

5. 1 piece, 2x6 in. x 8 ft. 

6. 9 pieces, 2x4 in. x. 18 ft. 

7. 9 " 2x4 in. x 12 ft. 

8. 12 " 2x4 in. x 20 ft. 

9. 1 piece, 2x4 in. x. 16 ft. 

10. 1 " 2x4 in. x. 14 ft. 

11. 8 pieces, 1x3 in. x 12 ft. 

12. 11 " 1x2 in. X. 14 ft. 

13. 26 " 1x4 in. x 14 ft. 

14. 15 " 1x4 in. x 12 ft. 

15. 8 " 1x4 in. x 18 ft. 

16. 9 " 1x4 in. x. 10 ft. 

17. 4 " 1x8 in. x 14 ft. 

18. 11 " 1x1 in. X 16 ft. 

19. 1 piece, 1x1 in. x. 18 ft. 

Sheathing, 1,200 ft. 
Lumber for main doors, 50 ft (op- 
tional). 
10 pieces, 1x12 in. x. 12 ft. 
9 " Ix 6 in. X 12 ft. 
5 bundles (50) laths. 
18 sash, 28x34 in. (glazed). 
48 pieces glass, 8x12 in. 
12 rolls roofing (to cover 1,200 ft.). 
2 rolls 1-in. mesh wire netting, 18 in. 
wide. 

100 lin. ft. 2-in. mesh wire netting, 48 in. 
wide. 

600 ft. cord. 



Page Ten 



2 wire rings. 
24 wire hooks. 

6 pairs 2-in. butt hinges (optional). 

3 pairs strap hinges (optional). 

Labor, 96 hours. 

ITEMIZED LIST OF MATERIALS IN THE ORDER OF THEIR USE IN PRO- 
CEEDING WITH THE WORK. 

(Numbers refer to Bill ; letters, to Drawings.) 

1. 8 sills, 2x4 in. x. 11 ft. 6 in. 

5. 16 corner studs, 2x25/^x33/^ in. x 1 ft - a 

8. 16 studs, 2x4 in. x 1 ft b 

11. 8 pieces, 1x3 in. x 11 ft. 6 in c 

12. 8 pieces, 1x2 in. x 11 ft. 6 in c 

2. 8 joists, 2x4 in. x. 11 ft. 6 in. 

2. 8 joists, 2x4 in. x 4 ft. 4^ in. 

3. 9 joists, 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 7 in. 

3. 16 joists, 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 2 in. 

4. Flooring for 600 sq. ft. 

6. 9 studs, 2x4 in. x 8 ft. 10 in d 

7. 8 plates, 2x4 in. x 5 ft. 9 in e 

7. 8 plates, 2x4 in. x 5 ft. 7 in f 

7. 1 plate, 2x4 in. x. 3 ft. 1 in 

7. 1 plate, 2x4 in. x 2 ft. 11 in 

8. 9 rafters, 2x4 in. x 10 ft g 

8. 16 rafters, 2x4 in. x, 9 ft. 6 in h 

6. 9 rafters (dome), 2x4 in. x 9 ft. (length optional). 

7. 1 rafter (entrance), 2x4 In. x 6 ft. 

9. 2 rafters (entrance), 2x4 in. x 8 ft. 

13. 25 pieces, 1x4 in. x 6 ft. 

13. 25 " 1x4 in. x 7 ft. 10 in. 

14. 25 " 1x4 in. x 1 ft. 

16. 9 " 1x4 in. x 9 ft. 5 in. 

15. 16 " 1x4 in. x 9 ft. 

18. 48 " 1x1x8 in. 
12. 25 " 1x2x8 in. 

17. 48 " 1x8 in. x optional. 
14. 12 " 1x4 in. x 3 ft. 3 in. 
14. 24 " 1x4 in. x 3 ft. 

14. 12 " 1x4 in. x 2 ft. 4 in. 

19. 6 " 1x1 in. x 3 ft. 

18. 48 cleats, 1x1 in. x 1 ft. 6 in. 

12. 25 cleats, 1x2 in. x 1 ft. 10 in. 
18. 48 ties, 1x1 in. x 1 ft. 6 in. 

13. 2 pieces, 1x4 in. x 3 ft. 

14. 2 " 1x4 in. x 6 ft. 

13. 1 piece, 1x4 in. x 6 ft. 6 in. 



Page Eleven 



cTVlethod ^ Building 

Drive a large stake firmly in the ground at the point selected for the center of 
the building. Drive a spike part way into the top of the stake. Make a small loop 
at the end of a piece of straight wire so it will slip over the head of the spike and 
mark the wire with a file, 6 ft., 8 ft. and 16 ft. from the center of the nail. Do not have 
the loop so large it will bend and lengthen the wire when it is drawn taught. Cut off 
the wire at the 16 ft. mark. Now, having determined on what side of the build- 
ing you want your entrance, draw the outer end of the wire to the middle of the 
doorway and drive a stake. Now take your wire to the opposite side of the building 
and drive another stake 16 ft. from the center and in an exact line with center stake 
and the one in the doorway. The stake last driven is your starting point. In the top 
of it, drive a small nail part way and exactly 16 ft. from the center. 

The sides of the building are, as shown in Plate II, 11 ft. 6 in. long and each corner 
is 16 ft. from the center. Place one end of a measuring stick, 11 ft. 6 in. long, against 
nail in the stake at the starting point, draw the wire taught and bring the ends to- 
gether. Drive a stake here and proceed in the same manner each way from the start- 
ing point until all eight sides of building are staked out. 

Water pipes for conveying water to each pen should now be laid. The manner 
of laying them will depend upon the system used. There are several systems on 
the market for watering poultry. Decide on what you want and install it. If you build 
a floor of concrete (and it is the best floor) provision should be made for drainage. 
Lay a drain pipe to the center of the building and connect, with elbow, to what will 
be your opening in the center of the floor. Toward this opening the floor should 
slope gently — sufficiently for surface water to run off. There are strainers and traps and 
other contrivances that may be put in to prevent stoppage of drain pipes. The details 
of this arrangement are optional. If you have determined on a concrete floor, place 
a framework around the outer side of the stakes to the desired height and another 
three or four inches inside for the molds of the wall. The floor should be a few inches 
above the ground in districts in which it does not freeze severely in winter and this 
wall is simply to retain the floor in place, and it need not extend farther above the 
floor than 1 in., which will give plenty of room to make round corners to facili- 
tate cleaning. Where the ground freezes deeply in the winter, the building site should 
be excavated to a depth of 1 ft. or more and filled in with gravel or cinders or both 
and tamped well. On top of this gravel should be poured cement mortar mixed in 
the proportion of six parts sand to one part good cement. This mortar should be 
quite wet and should be put on to a depth of 1 in. When it is thoroughly dry apply 
a good coat of hot asphaltum. 

Now cut eight sills 2x4 in. x 11 ft. 6 in., long side, with a bevel of 1% in. to 4 in. 
Now take eight pieces 2 in. x 6 in. stuff, 1 ft. long, and rip for corner studding (a, 
Plate II). Spike sills to studding so that a stud is at right angles to each end of 
sill with the bevel of stud flush with the bevel of sill and the long side of end of 
studding flush with long side of sill. Cut sixteen pieces 2x4 in. x 1 ft. and spike each 
sill to two of them so they are 3 ft. 10 in. from center to center and the same distance 
from each end (b, Plate II). Now cut eight pieces 1x3 in. x 11 ft. 6 in. and place one 
at each side of the building. Distribute also your sills with studs attached. Lay a 
piece of 1x3 in. along side sill and mark for studding; then nail it to outside of 
studs, flush with their ends (c, Plate II). Cut eight pieces 1x2 in. x 11 ft. 6 in. and nail 
one of them along each sill so that it extends 1 in. above the sill (c, Plate II). The 
framework for each side being now complete, place in position, spike frames together 
so that each corner is exactly 16 ft. from center (Ground Plan, Plate II). 

Page Twelve 



Now level the sills by blocking up where needed with thin strips of wood. Again 
test corners to see each one is exactly 16 ft. from center. At points 8 ft. from center 
and on a line with each corner and center make blocks of concrete level with top of 
sills; on these blocks will rest the studding, 2x4 in.x8 ft. 10 in. (d, Plates II and III). 
Now put on another coat of cement mortar (1 to 6, as before) crowding it well under 
the sills where needed and making concave joints between floor and sills to facilitate 
cleaning. Make the coat from ^ to 1 in. thick. When it is thoroughly dry, apply a 
coat of hot asphaltum. From this point on, proceed according to directions, following 
instructions for board floor and walls. 

To lay a board floor, cut eight pieces 2x4 in. x 11 ft. 6 in. long side and the same 
number 2x4 in. x 4 ft. 4f^ in. long side, all beveled % in. to 2 in. (a. Plate II). Lay the 
longer pieces around the building for sides and spike them together. Each outside cor- 
ner should be exactly 16 ft. from the center. Now lay the other pieces with inside cor- 
ners 6 ft. from center and on a line with outer corners and center. Spike together. Cut 
nine joists 2x4 in. by 9 ft. 7 in. and sixteen joists 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 2 in., the latter with a 
y^ in. bevel and to be laid to correspond with partitions (Ground Plan, Plate II). The 
Work Room need not be floored. See that the joists are reasonably level as the work 
proceeds, and when all are nailed together, level carefully with blocks or posts at 
each joint. Cover with tight board flooring, remembering you will have to clean out 
the runs many, many times and, the smoother the floor, the more easily, quickly and 
thoroughly the cleaning can be done. 

Now cut your studding as directed in the instructions for making a concrete floor 
and put in place. Instead of spiking sills to them, however, toe-nail them to the floor 
first, nailing on the 2-in. and 3-in. boards (c, Plate II). Be sure to have the outside cor- 
ners exactly 11 ft. 6 in. apart and 16 ft. from the center. 

Draw 12-ft. and 16-ft. circles on the floor with the 6-ft. and 8-ft. marks on the wire 
for radii, as indicated by dotted lines on Ground Plan, Plate II. Then draw straight lines 
from each corner to the center. Where the straight lines intersect the 16-ft. circle, the 
2x4 in. X 8 ft. 10 in. studs are to be toe-nailed to the floor (d. Plates II and III). Cut nine 
studs 2x4 in. x 8 ft. 10 in., eight plates 2x4 in. x 5 ft. 9 in., long side, with bevel 1^ in. to 
4 in., and eight plates 2x4 in. x 5 ft. 7 in., long side, with bevel of ^ in. to 2 in. Take 
two studs (d. Plates II and III) and nail to ends the long plate (e, Plate III). Nail the 
short plate between studs (f, Plate III) six feet from end. Do this with remaining 
studs: Set them in place and nail remaining plates in place. Plumb studding and toe- 
nail to floor. Now fit and nail short plates over doorway. 

Cut nine corner rafters 2x4 in. x 9 ft. V/^ in., short side, and nail in place (g, Plate 
III). Cut sixteen rafters 2x4 in. x 8 ft. 8^ in., short side, and nail in place (h, Plate 
III). The length of rafters over all will depend upon the width of eaves, but should 
not be long enough to prevent the sun from shining in the little windows in the side 
walls. Now cut and fit rafters for dome at any desired pitch, leaving opening for 
chimney if desired. 

Now build frame work for Entrance Way in any desired manner. The way sug- 
gested in the drawings (Plate II) is quickly and easily made. 

Before sheathing the roofs, it will be best to make and fit portable partitions unless 
they are wanted permanent as shown in Side Elevation, Plate III. However, port- 
able partitions are to be preferred and may be made of lx4-in. boards covered with 1-in. 
mesh wire to a height of 18 in. and 2-in. mesh wire for the remainder. 

The little doors and windows in the walls of the house should be put in next. 
Cut 48 pieces 1x1x8 in. and the same number of pieces of lath 10. in. long. Nail the lath 
on the 1-in. square pieces so that ^ in. extends over on each side and 1 in. at each end. 
These pieces will be the frames for the windows and part of those for doors. 6 in. 
each way from the middle of the end of each run, nail one of these frames in place at 

Page Thirteen 



right angles to the lx2-in. strip along the bottom of the wall, leaving an opening 8x12 
in. for lights of this size. Next cut twenty-five pieces 1x2x8 in. and nail these against 
the studding and flush with the edge of it for frames for the doors. Twenty-five pieces 
of lath 10 in. long you now nail in place for jams as was done for the windows. Now 
cut doors of 8-in. stuff to fit, and hinge in place. Drive a staple on the inside of the door 
toward the bottom. This is for the string to control the door from the feed room. See 
Plate III. 

Now make a frame 28x34 in. for the skylight. Using three 1x4 in. boards as shown 
in dotted lines in ground plan and in the elevation, Plate III (the rafters follow the 
lines of the partitions as shown in ground plan). The horizontal piece of 1x4 in. is 
nailed to the two side pieces and the frame is then put in place level with the tops of 
the rafters. This frame is so to be arranged that, with the addition of a strip to the 
lower edge of the sash, the sash will extend over the wall fiush with the lower edge of 
the roof, and thus have the eaves uniform. 

■ If the entrance is on the north side, and it should be when convenient, there will 
be no need of lights over the entrance, the dome or over the sides of the roof next to 
the entrance. Cut twelve pieces 1x4 in. x 2 ft. 4 in. and place two of them in each of 
the other six sides of the dome as frames for the 28x34-in. sash. Now sheath the roofs 
and the walls of the dome with whatever material is best suited to your climate and 
local conditions. Then put in the skylights in the frames prepared for them with the 
surface of the sash flush with the surface of the roof. Nail the sash securely in place. 
Then put on the roofing paper, beginning with the roof of the dome, covering the wall 
of the dome next and last the lower roof. Get the roofing on tight, well nailed down 
and cemented, especially over the cracks around the skylight. The windows in the 
dome may be hinged and arranged to open, as the builder prefers. The writer likes 
them hinged at the bottom to open inward. A very simple method of doing this is to 
drive a large nail through the lower end of each of the 1x4 in. casings and into the sash. 
The sash will turn on these nails. To hold the sash open to any desired degree, take 
a piece of board about 1 in. sq. and three feet long and drive nails part way into it on 
one side at intervals of 2^4 in. Into one end drive a large staple securely. Insert an- 
other staple into this one and drive it into the plate above the window so that the side 
of the stick containing the nails will be next the window. Then by opening the win- 
dow and placing upper edge of the sash between two of the nails, the sash will "stay 
put." 

The brood boxes are made of 1x12 in. and 1x6 in. boards. The drawings, Plate III, 
show clearly how they are built. The lath grating is made of two cross pieces the width 
of the box, inside measurement, two pieces for the ends, 18 in. long, and four for other 
uprights, 15 in. long. This leaves a 3-in. opening along the bottom and places between 
uprights for the chicks to go out and in. To fit the lids, lay one piece 6-in. wide and one 
12 in. wide on top of each battery of three and bevel the ends so they will reach from 
the middle of the board at one end to the middle of the board at the other end. Then 
mark for the two saw cuts to divide into three lids, cut accordingly and nail the pieces 
together with lath as shown on the raised cover in thumb sketch, Plate III. The cleats 
should be placed so that the lids cannot be moved from one side to the other and thus 
fall into the box. 

Now make doors for the inside end of runs above brood boxes and directly above 
lath grating. Use laths for frame and diagonal brace and cover with 1-in. mesh wire 
netting. Make doors 3 ft. high so they can swing in toward the runs. Hinge and make 
self-closing with small weight on cord running through staple. 

Now connect a cord with one outside door at end of each run, pass the cord through 
a staple in roof just above the little door, through another staple above door over 
brood box and bring it to center of building. Suspend a small pole from the center of 
the dome to witin 7 ft. of the floor. Make it rigid. Fasten a wire ring near lower end 

Page Fourteen 



horizontally with three or four wire spokes. Bring the door cords through this ring 
and attach each with hooks to a smaller ring. Then all the doors may be opened or 
closed with one pull on the small ring, and those that one may wish to remain closed 
may be disconnected. It will take only a few minutes to adjust all the cords to their 
proper lengths if a nail is driven near the lower end and the ring placed over it. Then 
pull each door open and bring the cord taught to the ring and attach it to a wire hook. 
Then to close the doors, simply take the ring off the nail, release it and the doors will 
fall shut. This simple arrangement will save many hours during a season. In case a 
chimney is built this devise may be placed right over the inner door of the entrance 
way. This inner door, by the way, is a wire screen door to be used in summer when 
it is desired to have the outer doors open for ventilation. 

If part of the house is wanted for breeders or layers, droppings boards, 3 ft. x 4 ft. 
and roosts 14 in. from center to center may be put in as shown in Plate I. There should 
be a horizontal door for cleaning the droppings board from the work room, and nests 
should be placed under this board so that eggs may be gathered from the work room. 

How many brood boxes or droppings boards one should build depends entirely on 
one's peculiar needs. Arrange the interior in a manner best suited to your flock and 
its purposes. 



Page Fifteen 




'"I I I I I I I 



CNTRANCC 

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Page Sixteen 




^mwm^^^^^^m^t^'^^tm^mm^i^ 






ElLtVATION 



' I' 1^ li ^ 1^ .• ,' f •» ^ Ji •" 

S C AL-E, = 12. T-i: 



Efficient Laying and Breeding House 



66 feet in diameter. 



24 bbls. cement. 
20 cu. yds. sand. 
20 gals, asphaltum. 
350 brick. 

Page Seventeen 



BILL OF MATERIALS. 



Board feet 

1. 83 pieces, 2x4 in. x 12 ft 664 

2. 4 " 2x4 in. x 14 ft 37 

3. 18 " 2x4 in. x 16 ft 192 

4. 100 " 2x4 in. x 18 ft 1,200 

5 39 " 2x4 in. x 20 ft 520 

6. 16 " 2x4 in. x. 22 ft 235 

7. 14 " 4x4 in. x 12 ft 210 

8. 17 " 4x4 in. x 14 ft 317 

9 6" 4x4 in. x 20 ft 160 

10. 4 " 2x6 in. x 12 ft 48 

11. 15 " 2x6 in. x 14 ft 210 

12. 17 " 2x12 in. x 12 ft 408 

13. 5 " 2x12 in. x 22 ft 220 

14. 2,300 lin. ft. 1x4 in 770 

15. 42 pieces 1x5 in. x 12 ft 210 

16. 9 " 1x5 in. x 14 ft 53 

17. 320 lin. ft. 1x2 in 55 

18. 8 pieces, 1x6 in. x 20 ft 80 

19. 140 " 1x12 in. x 12 ft 1,680 

20. 16 " 1x12 in. x 16 ft 256 

21. 8 " 1x12 in. x 20 ft 160 

22. 51 " sheathing, 1x12 in. x 14 ft 714 

22. 334 " sheathing, 1x12 in. x 12 ft 4,008 

12,407 
66 windows, 28x34 in. (6-light). 

Roofing or cement mortar to cover 4,750 sq. ft. 
Wire netting, 1 roll, 2-inch mesh, 8 ft. 
Hinges, two-way spring, 2 prs. 
Hinges, 4-in. strap, 4 prs. 
Nails, 135 lbs. 



ITEMIZED LIST OF MATERIALS IN THE ORDER OF THEIR USE IN PRO- 
CEEDING WITH THE WORK. 

(Numbers refer to Bill; letters, to Drawings.) 

1. 16 sills, 2x4 in. x 12 ft. 

1. 16 plates, 2x4 in. x 12 ft. 

2. 1 sill, 2x4 in x optional. 

2. 1 plate, 2x4 in. x optional. 
1 & 5. 63 studs, 2x4 in. x 4 ft. 10 in d 

2. 2 studs, 2x4 in. x optional. 

3. 15 uprights, 2x4 in. x 7 ft. 3 1/3 in f 

4. 2 uprights, 2x4 in. x optional. 

5. 14 plates, 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 5% in g 

5. 2 plates, 2x4 in. x optional. 

1. 1 plate, 2x4 in. x optional. 

8. 17 uprights, 4x4 in. x 13 ft h 

1. 16 plates, 2x4 in. x 6 ft i 

7. 16 plates, 4x4 in. x 5 ft. 8 in j 

7. 1 plate, 4x4 in. x optional. 

Page Eighteen 



1. 1 plate, 2x4 in. x optional. 

7. 9 posts, 4x4 in. x 6 ft k 

10. 8 joists, 2x6 in. x 5 ft. 8 in 1 

11. 18 joists, 2x6 in. x optional n 

12. U joist, 2x6 in. x optional o 

12. j Planking to cover 200 sq. ft. 

9. 9 uprights, 4x4 in. x 9 ft. 4 in p 

1. 8 plates, 2x4 in. x 5 ft. 8 in q 

1. 1 plate, 2x4 in. x optional. 
4. 65 rafters, 2x4 in. x 18 ft. 

4. 33 rafters, 2x4 in. x 18 ft. 

11. 6 stringers (incline), 2x6 in. x 12 ft. 6 in v 

7. 3 cross pieces (incline), 4x4 in. x 4 ft w 

9. 2 posts (incline), 4x4 in. x 5 ft. 

9. 2 posts (incline), 4x4 in. x 3 ft. 4 in. 

9. 2 posts (incline), 4x4 in. x 1 ft. 8 in. 

13. 25 pieces planking, 2x12 in. x 4 ft. 4 in. 

2. 1 plate (entrance), 2x4 in. x optional. 

4. 2 plates (entrance), 2x4 in. x optional. 

3. 1 ridge pole (entrance), 2x4 in. x optional. 
22. Sheathing (walls), 576 board feet. 

22. Sheathing( lower roof), 2.880 board feet. 

22. Sheathing (dome roof), 864 ft. 

22. Sheathing (entrance way), 150 ft. 

22. Sheathing (doors), 240 ft. 

14. Cleats for Doors and Windows, 1x4 in., 360 lin. feet. 

17. Cleats for Doors and Windows, 1x2 in., 320 lin. feet. 

15. 34 pieces 1x5 in. x 2 ft. II34 in s 

15. 34 pieces 1x5 in. x 5 ft. 93^ in s 

16. 34 pieces 1x5 in. x 3 ft. 2 in s 

15. 34 pieces 1x5 in. x 6 ft s 

3. 9 roost supports, 2x4 in. x 7 ft. 2 in t 

1. 16 roosts, 2x4 in. x 11 ft. 7 in u 

1. 16 roosts, 2x4 in. x 11 ft. 2 in u 

6. 16 roosts, 2x4 in. x 10 ft. 9 in u 

6. 16 roosts, 2x4 in. x 10 ft. 4 in u 

5. 16 roosts, 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 11 in u 

21. 16 pieces 1x12 in. x 9 ft. 6 in y 

18. 16 pieces 1x6 in. x 9 ft. 6 in y 



TRAP NESTS. 
1. 32 pieces 2x4 in. x 1 ft. 6 in. 
5. 16 pieces 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 9 in. 

16 pieces 2x4 in. x 4 ft. 

48 pieces 1x12 in. x 4 ft. 11 in. 

!88 nierps 1v12 in v 1 ft lOi/C i 



3 
20 

19. 288 pieces 1x12 in. x 1 ft. lO^/^ in 

19. 144 pieces 1x12 in. x 2 ft. 

14. 384 pieces 1x4 in. x 1 ft. 2 in. 

14. 48 pieces 1x4 in. x 5 ft. 

14. 48 pieces 1x4 in. x 5 ft. 1 in. 

19. 128 pieces 1x12 in. x 10 ft. 1 in. 

14. 144 cleats 1x4 in. x 1 ft. 9 in. 

14. 32 pieces 1x4 in. x 3 ft. 

14. 32 pieces 1x4 in. x 2 ft. 8 in. 

14. 32 pieces 1x4 in. x 2 ft. 4 in. 

14. 48 pieces 1x4 in. x 10 ft. 1 in. 

Page Nineteen 



cJTVlethod sT Building 

Drive a large stake firmly in the ground in the center of the building site selected 
for the Laying and Breeding House, Plates IV and V. Drive a spike in the center of 
the stake. Make a small loop at one end of a piece of straight wire, place it over the 
spike and draw it taught. Mark it 8 ft., 16^ ft. and 33 ft. from the center of the spike. 
Cut off the wire at 33 ft. Draw the wire to the middle of Entrance and drive a stake. 
One a line with it and the center stake, directly opposite and 33 ft. from center, drive 
another. Each way from this point, lay off eight 12-ft. sides with corners 33 ft. from 
center. 

This building should have a concrete floor surrounded by a 5-in. foundation wall 
1 ft. high. Arrange a frame work around the outside of stakes for a mold for the foun- 
dation so that it will be 1 in. beyond the wooden sills. Erect another frame work 5 in. 
inside the outer one. The depth of the foundation need not be over 1 ft. and 5 or 6 in. of 
this should be above the outside ground so that earth may be piled against it and afford 
rapid and efficient drainage of the water that runs off the roof. Build the wall with one 
part cement, three parts sand and five parts gravel. Excavate and level inside the 
foundation, so the ground will be level with the bottom of it. Fill to a depth of 10 in. 
with rocks, gravel, cinders, etc. Tamp well and even the surface with a gentle fall 
toward the drain, which should be in or near the center of building. Provision should 
be made for incasing water and drain pipes in solid concrete. The foundation for the 
chimney should be deeper than the floor (Plate V). 

Cut sixteen sills 2x4 in. x 12 ft., long side, with a bevel of % in. to 4 in. (a, Plate V.) 
Spike these sills together on the foundation around the building with the corners 33 
ft. from the center. Level them. Build concrete bases for all uprights and for posts 
for platform, level with top of sills (Plates IV and V). 

In the center of the building build a concrete chimney base 2 ft. x 2 ft. 4 in., 6 ft. 
high on which to rest the studding (b, Plate V). Let the flue, which is 8x12 in., extend 
down into the base at least 1 ft., with an opening for stove pipe. The chimney is to be 
built on top of this base and to extend through the center of the roof of the dome. 

Apply a 1-in. coat of cement mortar made with one part cement to six parts sand. 
When this is thoroughly dry, apply a coat of hot asphaltum. See that the floor is en- 
tirely covered, as this coat is to assure a dry floor. When this is dry, apply another coat 
or cement mortar, made as before, and everywhere that the mortar comes in contact 
with upright surfaces, see that the joints are all round to facilitate cleaning. By apply- 
ing some of the mortar to outside edge of sill, after the sheathing is put on, the house 
will be absolutely rat proof. Apply a second coat of hot asphaltum to prevent the 
chickens from wearing out the bottom of their feet on the raw cement. In most 
climates it will be found advantageous to cover the gravel with the two coats of cement 
mortar and asphaltum after the roof is finished. 

Cut sixteen plates 2x4 in. x 12 ft., long side, with bevel (a, Plate V) and lay a plate 
exactly over each sill. Mark plates and sills together for studding 3 ft. from center to 
center (c, Plate V). Cut sixty-three studs 2x4 in. x 4 ft. 10 in. (d, plate V). Bevel fif- 
teen of them for corners (e, Plate V) and determine on the height of Entrance Way 
and cut and bevel two for Entrance, Ys in- to 2 in. Nail plates to studding, raise in 
position and toe-nail studs to sills. 

The writer believes the pitch given the roof (1-6) is sufficient for any climate, if 
good fabric or cement roofing is used. Shingles should never be used on chicken houses. 
They harbor vermin and make houses damp, cold and drafty. However, local condi- 

Page Twenty 



tions govern the strength required of the roof. In this climate, Western Washington, 
2x4 in. rafters set 3 ft. apart at the outer plates are sufficient. It will be noted that the 
longest span, horizontally, is 9 ft. without supports. This arrangement makes it pos- 
sible to economize on the number and size of rafters. But these matters must be deter- 
mined by the builder in every locality. In some parts of the United States 2x5 in. or 
2x10 in. rafters will be required to support a heavy fall of snow. Greater pitch will 
mean a colder building. So the best method is to keep the roof pitch low and have the 
roof strong. 

Cut fifteen studs 2x4 in. x 7 ft. 3 1-3 in. (f, Plate V) and two the length of other 
studs for Entrance Way. Cut fourteen plates 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 5^ in. (g, Plate V) and 
two plates 2x4 in. to connect with sides of longer studs at Entrance Way, all beveled 
as in a, Plate V. Nail plates to studs, raise in place, secure with temporary braces, and 
cut the other plate and fit over Entrance Way. Plumb. Cut seventeen studs 4x4 in. 
x 13 ft. (h, Plate V). Cut sixteen plates 2x4 in. x 6 ft., long side (i, Plate V), and the 
same number 4x4 in. x 5 ft. 8 in., long side (j, Plate V), all beveled as in a, Plate V. 
Nail plates to studs, raise in place and secure with temporary braces. Plumb. Fit two 
plates over Entrance Way. Cut nine posts 4x4 in. 6 ft. (k, Plate V). Cut eight out- 
side joists for Platform (1, Plate V), 2x6 in. 5 ft. 8 in., with bevel as in m, Plate V. Cut 
eighteen joists 2x6 in. (n, Plate V) to fit on concrete pier. When frame of platform is 
all in place and plumb, with each outside corner exactly 8 ft. from center cut and fit 
joist at end of incline (o. Plate V). Then cover platform with 2 in. planking. Cut 
nine uprights 4x4 in. x 9 ft. 4 in. (p, Plate V). Cut eight plates 2x4 in. x 5 ft. 8 in. 
(q, Plate V). Nail plates to uprights, raise in place and cut and fit plate over incline. 

Now cut rafters as desired, put in place and brace diagonally with strips as you 
proceed. A frame work of 4x4 in. timber should be placed around the chimney to take 
the strain of the dome rafters. 

Sheathe the walls, leaving openings for doors and windows (r, Plate V). The win- 
dows and doors should be arranged to slide up and down and controlled by cords run- 
ning to feeding platform. The windows, 28x34 in., are shown in plans. The writer 
prefers doors the same size, which enable an attendant to pass in and out in case of need, 
and the studding makes special frame work unnecessary. 

Sheathe the lower roof, leaving openings for skylights (s, Plate V). This open- 
ing should be 3x6 ft. and should be boxed with 1x5 in. boards nailed to edge of roof 
boards and extending 4 in. above them on all sides. This boxing should measure 2 ft. 
11^4 in. X 5 ft. 11% in., over all, or % in. less in length and breadth than the sash for 
the skylight. To the edge of the sash should be nailed boxing of 1x5 in. boards so this 
lid will cap the boxing in the roof. When the roofing fabric is extended up the sides of 
this boxing, the cap will fit tight and will not leak, if the cap on the sash is also cov- 
ered with roofing well cemented and nailed down. 

Sheathe the roof of dome and complete Entrance Way. 

Now you are ready for your water proof roofing. If you use fabric, cover the roof 
carefully, using plenty of nails and cement. Perhaps the easiest way to roof this house, 
and in windy localities it is undoubtedly the best way ,is to staple barbed wire liberally 
on the roof as a binder and cover it with a 1-in. coat of good cement mortar made in the 
proportion of one part cement to four parts sand, taking care to make the surface 
smooth. 

Now fit two 28x34-in. sashes in each side of dome and your are ready to complete 
the interior. 

Cut nine roost supports 2x4 in. x 7 ft. 2 in. (t, Plate V). Nail in place. Cut roosts 
(u, Plate V) of 2x4 in. stuff as follows: 16 pieces 11 ft. 7 in. long, 16 pieces 11 ft. 2 in. 
long, 16 pieces 10 ft. 9 in. long, 16 pieces, 10 ft. 4 in. long and 16 pieces 9 ft. 11 in. long. 
Notch ends of roosts to fit supports and notch supports to fit roosts. 

Page Twenty-One 



Make eight Food Hoppers as shown on Plate VII. Then make eight batteries of 
sectional trapnests. To build one, proceed as follows: Cut four legs 2x4x18 in. Cut 
two pieces 2x4 in. x 9 ft. 9 in. and two pieces 2x4 in. x 4 ft. Make a frame 4 ft. x 10 ft. 
1 in. and attach the legs, bracing them at each corner with waste. Make a bottom for 
nests 4 ft. x 10 ft. 1 in. of 1x12 in. boards with cleats so arranged on the underside 
that the bottom cannot slip off the platform just made. Now build nests without tops 
or bottoms (Plate IV) in sets of four, two sets, with only one end and no backs and 
two with ends and backs. One without a back and one end, is placed at one corner and 
diagonally opposite is placed the other. On the other two corners are placed the ones 
with back and ends and the result is one tier of sixteen nests complete without tops. 
A top is now built to serve as a bottom for the next tier and so on until three tiers are 
made. Provision must be made for the 4x4 in. studding in the middle of each battery, 
so bottoms to nests must be in two sections. 

In front of the lower tier is a 4-in. running board, 8 in. from nests ; in front of the 
next tier is a running board 4 in. from nests, and in front of the top tier is a 4-in. run- 
ning board against the nests. Thus hens can Hy from one tier to the other and ladders 
will not be needed. The position of food hopper also assists the hens to go up and 
down. 

The Incline up to the Feeding Platform should be made of 2-in. planking on three 
2x6-in. stringers (v, Plate V), supported by three 4x4-in. cross pieces (w, Plate V), on 
4x4-in. posts. Wire netting should be stretched where indicated so the fowls may have 
free passage around the building under the Incline without having any other access to 
the Entrance Way, 



Page Twenty-Two 




/^JLAN or lAywg /rouse * 
co/vi/r/^rhsMro 



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FRAMES FOR FARTITIOMS 




Page Twenty-Three 



Conversion of Laying House Into Brooder House 

BILL OF MATERIALS 

1. 6 pieces, 1x12 in. X 16 ft. 

2. 2 pieces, Ix 2 in. x 16 ft. 

3. 2 pieces, Ix 2 in. x 18 ft. 

4. 2 pieces, Ix 4 in. x 12 ft. 

5. 5 pieces, Ix 4 in. x 14 ft. 

6. 3 pieces 1x8 in. x 14 ft. 

7. 1 piece, Ix 8 in. x 6 ft. 

8. 6 ft. 18 in. wide, 1-in. mesh, wire netting. 
Stples, 54. 

Nails, 2 lbs. 

ITEMIZED LIST OF MATERIALS IN THE 
ORDER OF THEIR USE IN PROCEED- 
ING WITH THE WORK 

(Numbers Refer to Bill, Letters to Drawings) 

1. 6 uprights, 1x12 in. x 7 ft. 6 in a 

2. 24 cleats, 1x2x8 in b 

2. 12 cleats, 1x2x15 in c 

4. 12 cleats, 1x4 in. x 1 ft. 10 in d 

6. 18 bottoms, 1x8x11x7 in e 

1. 6 bottoms, 7 in. base 9 in. high j 

1. 6 pieces, 1x12 in. x 2 ft. 2^ in f 

1. 6 pieces, 1x12 in. x 1 ft. 11^ in g 

1. 6 pieces, 1x12 in. x 2 ft. 1% in h 

7. 18 pieces, 1x8x6^/^x11^ in i 

6. 18 pieces, 1x8 in. x 1 ft. 6% in k 

3. 18 pieces 1x2x1 ft. 6 in 1 

5. 6 pieces, 1x4 in. x 4 ft. 6 in. m 

5. 6 pieces, 1x4 in. x 2 ft. 2 in n 

5. 12 pieces, 1x4 in. x 2 ft. 1 in o 

1. 6 equilateral 13-in. triangles P 

3. 12 cleats 1x2x8 in s 

8. 18 pieces 5x11 in. 1-in. mesh wire netting, 

stapled to swing - t 

Waste. Optional braces 1x4 in. x 7 or 8 in v 

Remove nests and roosts. Build frames for partitions as indicated in Plate VI. 
Cover the frames with material suitable to your climate. Ordinarily heavy muslin or 
canvas will do. Otherwise, a well glazed building paper, protected on each side with 
burlap, will be ample to confine the warm air. The partitions should be light so as to 
be easily handled. These partitions are to be placed between the uprights that run to 
the dome and from every alternate one of these uprights to the outside wall. A piece 
of canvas hung as a curtain will do for a door. Over the 10-in. openings below parti- 
tions are to be hung cloth curtains to within 3 in. of floor so they can be raised when 
desired. Now put in wire fence from partition to Feeding Platform, as indicated by 
dotted lines in plan, Plate VI, putting a gate in each fence. 

Page Twenty-Four 




PLAN 




The Efficient Food Hopper 



BILL OF MATERIALS 



L 34 pieces, 1x4 in. x 20 ft 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6 



9 
19 

2 
37 

3 



1x4 in. X 18 ft. 

1x4 in. X 16 ft. 

1x4 in. X 14 ft. 

1x4 in. x 12 ft. 
„. „ 1x10 in. X 18 ft. 

200 yards heavy muslin, 36 in. wide. 
5 lbs. nails, 9 pairs hinges. 
Yz roll wire netting. 

ITEMIZED LIST OF MATERIALS 



X 10 ft a 

X 3 ft. 6 in b 

X 3 ft c 

X 5 ft. 8 in d 

X 3 ft. 4 in e 

X 9 ft. 2 in f 

X 7 ft. 4 in g 

X 5 ft h 

X 6 ft. 2 in i 

X 7 ft. 4 in j 

X 7 ft. 5 1-3 in k 

X 8 ft. 3^ in 1 

X 9 ft. \y<& in m 

X 9 ft. 9 in n 

X 7 ft. 10 in o 



2& 



1. 


41 


pieces, 


Ix 4 in. 


2. 


8 




Ix 4 in. 


5. 


8 




Ix 4 in. 


5. 


24 




Ix 4 in. 


4. 


8 




Ix 4 in. 


1. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


3. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


5. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


6. 


9 




1x10 in. 


3. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


3. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


2. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


1. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


1. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 


3. 


9 




Ix 4 in. 



This Efficient Food Hopper can be built at a cost, 
including labor, of five dollars. It has compartments 
for six different kinds of food, and will hold twelve 
bushels. Although it can be placed in a space 4-ft. 
square, 72 fowls can eat from it comfortable at one 
time. Placed within a foot of the Feeding Platform, it 
may be quickly and easily filled. Food cannot clog it; 
fowls cannot waste the food. 



t.LCVATION 

Page Twenty-Five 



PART II 
Efficient Management 

In this part of EFFICIENT POULTRY HOUSING will be found certain matters 
that have a direct bearing on the management of poultry in the houses described. No 
attempt has been made to make this book a treatise on the elementary principles of 
poultry culture. But whenever efficient management calls for changes in the usual 
laborious, fussy, puttering methods, these changes are given in detail. 

However, it is not to be assumed that neglect of poultry is intended. Let it be 
considered that fussy, puttering methods do not mean efficient care and attention, but 
rather that quite frequently they mean the reverse. 

The Callus Bankiva, from which the domestic fowl is descended, thrived very well 
without man's attention, we may believe from the number of its descendants, and 
nearly everybody will tell you how they have seen a brood of chicks, with their hen 
mother, grow into splendid fowls on rich pastures without any care or assistance from 
their owner. This is certainly not to say that poultry on a large scale on a limited 
area would do as well, but too much emphasis cannot be placed on the fact that it is 
a normal chicken's nature to rustle for its feed and to grow into maturity as quickly 
as its constitutional tendency and its environment will permit. The lesson for us to 
learn is that a chick's parents must be healthy, vigorous birds and that the chick's en- 
vironment must be suited to its needs. Suitable environment must be provided for ma- 
ture fowls also. Given, then, proper environment and ancestry, and chickens, young 
and old, may be depended upon to exercise "poultry discretion" and to do all that is 
in their nature to do for the enrichment of their owner. 

THE FOUNDATION. 

The foundation of efficient management of poultry, which means its management 
with the greatest success and profit, is good stock properly housed. Assuming you 
have prepared to house your stock properly by building Efficient Poultry Houses, and 
that you are familiar with the elementary requirements of good stock, namely, robust 
health and an abundance of animal vigor, it may be said that whatever branch of 
poultry culture you follow, you will obtain the greatest profit by having fowls that 
will lay heavily in winter. Consequently, the production of winter layers will receive 
attention first. 

The only dependable knowledge we have of nature's laws, is the result of scien- 
tific investigation. Consequently, if we wish to know how to produce hens that will 
lay heavily in winter, it would seem to be wise to turn, not to the pages of catalogues 
of breeders who have something to sell, but to the unprejudiced conclusions of inves- 
tigators whose only object is the discovery of truth. 

The writer has received from Dr. Raymond Pearl, biologist of the Maine Agri- 
cultural Station, the results of the experiments in breeding for egg production at 
that station and a description of the manner in which the productive ability of hens 
is inherited. The fact that the conclusions made from these experiments are in ac- 
cord with the unscientific observations of many breeders, including the writer, is ad- 
ditional reason for accepting them as the best guide to breeding for winter egg pro- 
duction. Moreover these conclusions are based upon the greatest mass of experi- 
mental evidence ever at the disposal of any breeder scientific or other. His "investi- 
gations involved thirteen generations and several thousand individuals and occupied 

Page Twenty-Six 



the major portion of his time during the last five years." The truths arrived at are 
perhaps startHng, but they are certainly supported by a mass of seemingly incontro- 
vertible evidence. 

Among these truths, to quote from Dr. Pearl, are the following: 
"1. The record of fecundity of a hen, taken by and of itself alone, gives no 
definite, reliable indication from which the probable egg production of her daughters 
may be predicted. Furthermore mass selection on the basis of the fecundity records 
of females alone, even though long continued and stringent in character, failed com- 
pletely to produce any steady change in type in the direction of selection. 

"2. Fecundity must, however, be inherited since (a) there are widely distinct 
and permanent (under ordinary breeding) differences in respect of degree of fecun- 
dity between different standard breeds of fowls commonly kept by poultrymen, and 
(6) a study of pedigree records of poultry at once discovers pedigree lines (in some 
measure inbred of course) in each of which a definite, particular degree of fecundity 
constantly reappears generation after generation, the 'line' thus 'breeding true' in 
this particular. With all birds (in which such a phenomenon as that noted under b 
occurs) kept under the same general environmental conditions such a result can 
only mean that the character is in some manner inherited." 

To put it briefly, these two truths mean that although a good layer inherits the 
trait from her ancestors, she does not get it from her mother. And, without quoting 
further the exact language of Dr. Pearl, a good layer will inherit this trait from her 
father independent of what her mother's ability may be. But, if her father is not en- 
dowed with the high fecundity character, she will be a poor layer regardless of what 
her mother's performance on the nest may have been. Therefore the breeding of win- 
ter layers depends entirely on the male bird, and his possession of the ability to trans- 
mit the high fecundity factor depends on both his father and his mother. 

Before applying these truths to a system of breeding it is necessary to know that 
there are certain qualities a bird in the breeding pen must have and that trap-nesting 
in the spring and summer months is not necessary. 

In the first place the qualities a bird must have to be suitable for breeding are 
health, vigor, strength and normal anatomical development. The geomatrician ar- 
rives at his results by straight lines and true circles, so, in breeding, it is folly to ex- 
pect lawful results from weak, diseased, or otherwise abnormal birds. In the next 
place, almost any old healthy hen will lay in the spring and summer months. Con- 
sequently her performance in the natural breeding season is of little or no impor- 
tance in breeding for winter egg production. To quote again from Dr. Pearl: 

"5. A study of winter egg production (taken for practical purposes as that 
from the beginning of the laying year in the early fall to March 1) proves that this is 
the best available measure of inate capacity in respect to fecundity, primarily be- 
cause it represents the laying cycle in which the widest difference exists between 
birds of high fecundity and those of low fecundity. 

"6. It is found to be the case that birds fall into three well-defined classes in re- 
spect to winter egg production. These include (a) birds with high winter records, 
(b) birds with low winter records, and (c) birds that do not lay at all in the winter 
period (as defined above). The division point between a and b for the Barred Ply- 
mouth Rock stock used in these experiments falls at a production of about 30 eggs." 

In selecting your female breeders, you may be as ambitious as you desire with 
reference to their winter egg production to produce your male line, as on this line 
must depend your success or failure in the production of winter layers. To enter 
into a full discussion of the complexities and intricacies of the application of the Law 
of Mendel to the inheritance of fecundity would be confusing in this place and it does 
not seem to the writer to be necessary. Suffice it to say that there are three factors 

Page Twenty-Seven 



that must be possessed by the male bird whose normal female offspring are all good 
winter layers regardless of the fecundity of the females with which he is mated. These 
factors are: The possession of the sex characteristics in normal, healthy condition; 
the possession of the ability to transmit to female offspring the ability to lay in win- 
ter; the ability to transmit the high fecundity factor of liberal winter egg production. 

If a male bird without the last two factors is mated to females that lay well in 
winter, the resulting male offspring will be of very different value as producers of 
winter layers. Some of this offspring will have the two fecundity factors, some will 
have only one, some will have none. The only way to determine the value of these 
male birds is to try them. Make separate matings of the best of them. Toemark 
resulting offspring. If all the normal healthy matured daughters of any one of them 
begin laying in the fall and produce in excess of thirty eggs before March 1, you may 
rest assured that their sire possesses all three factors essential to his being a first-class 
breeder, so his sons, whose mothers are good winter layers, may be relied upon to 
perpetuate his line. 

Again, if a male bird possesses only one of the factors of winter egg production 
and is mated to females of high fecundity, the resulting male offspring will still vary 
as to ability to transmit high fecundity to their offspring, but there will not be so 
many low fecundity males among the sons of the one fecundity factor sire as there 
would be if, as in the first case, he did not possess either fecundity factor. So here, as 
in the first case, the only way to determine the value of the male offspring of the sire 
that possesses only one fecundity factor, is to test them as indicated above. 

It will thus be seen that the production of a male line on which to found a "win- 
ter laying" strain will require two years from breeding stock, three years from eggs. 
After that, however, it should be an easy matter, under proper management, to ob- 
tain winter layers. 

By breeding the male line to the very best winter layers each year, the line will 
constantly improve. As high record layers must be birds possessing health, vigor, 
strength, good digestions and activity, only such should be used in the breeding pens. 
When the male line is once established, females strong in the characteristics just 
mentioned may be selected for producing the laying flock only, regardless of their he- 
reditary constitution. 

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the old system of "like produces like" and 
"breed from the best to get the best" is far from being an exact method of obtaining 
uniform high fecundity. It will be seen also that the idea that show birds are good 
layers simply because they are show birds is far from true, but that there is no rea- 
son whatever why some show birds should not lay as well as any other birds ; indeed, 
because of the superior care they receive they should lay better if they have been bred 
with a due regard for the laws governing hereditary transmission of prolific laying. 

FERTILITY AND "HATCHABILITY." 

Male and female birds have likes and dislikes and it has never been shown that 
a mating against the will of either results in strong healthy chicks or even in any at 
all. On the contrary, experienced breeders of all kinds of live stock declare in favor 
of the "love match." If a few females are placed in a pen with only one male, some 
will be favorites and very often some will be wholly neglected. It is therefore de- 
sirable to have as large flocks as possible, containing one male to every ten to eighteen 
females, according to the breed, in order that no hen may be neglected. But numer- 
our males in a breeding pen may result in very low fertility unless precautions are 
taken against the interference of males. 

Some time ago the writer had forty-five hens and three cockerels running in a 
large yard containing trees and shrubbery in abundance. Only a few hundred of 

Page T wen t y - E i g h t 



their eggs were incubated but ninety per cent of all eggs incubated hatched good 
strong chicks. The shrubbery prevented interference of males, and the diversity of the 
range provided a wide variety of food and ample opportunity to exercise in a nat- 
ural manner. 

If the yard intended for breeders has no shrubbery or other shelter, make frames 
of scrap lumber, cover with burlap and hinge two of them together with staples so 
they may be folded when necessary to move them, lay them on their sides in L or V 
shape, or a wide open L, scattered liberally about the runs. You then need have no 
fear of fertility, the shelters may be quickly removed when it is necessary to alter- 
nate yards and the ground may be cultivated readily. 

However, the fertilization of the egg is not sufficient in itself to insure "hatch- 
ability." The egg must contain an abundance of food for the growing embryo. 

Give your breeding stock rich pastures, a variety of all kinds of food, and induce 
them to exercise by sprouting grains in the runs and you will have "hatchable" eggs 
that will produce strong, "livable" chicks. 

Of course, in breeding to keep the male line pure, matings containing only one 
male bird must be made. In these cases, losses from eggs that do not hatch are inevi- 
table. If eggs from any hens do not hatch at all, such hens may be removed to other 
breeding pens unless such removal would upset the plan of breeding. 

INCUBATION. 

The writer prefers hens to incubate eggs in the good old fashioned way. As there 
are any number of incubators manufactured, some good, some bad, some indifferent, 
and the manufacturers of all of them tell how to get the best results, the only advice 
the writer has to offer to those who prefer to be annoyed and bothered night and day 
with artificial incubation, is to follow the directions of the manufacturer. 

But, as hatching with hens under the Efficient method, requires less of the at- 
tendant's time and attention and produces stronger, better and more chicks than ar- 
tificial hatching, this method will be described in detail. 

Those who are using only the small house may set their hens during the winter 
in the brood boxes and give them the freedom of the indoor runs and of the outdoor 
run as well when the weather permits. When the weather gets warm enough, set the 
hens outdoors on the ground in batteries of nests in separate yards for each battery. 
Make the nests from 14 to 16 inches square, cover the bottom with one-inch-mesh 
wire only and give the top a sloping roof covered with roofing fabric. The hens should 
first be set on nest eggs and let off in the late afternoon until they return promptly to 
their nests without being placed there. Whole corn and wheat, grit and water should 
be where they can get it when they come off to feed. As soon as the hens become ac- 
customed to their new nests, give each one the number of eggs the smallest one in 
the battery can conveniently cover. When the attendant passes the sitting hens in 
the morning, he sees that they have food and water and releases them; when he passes 
them in the late afternoon, he closes the door in front of the nests. When the chicks 
begin to hatch, he deftly removes the egg shells occasionally to save the chicks from 
injury from their sharp corners and to prevent a shell from telescoping an egg that 
is about to hatch. 

But, if it is desired to hatch enough chicks to supply a 66-foot house with layers, 
the 32-foot house should be built with walls 6 ft. 6 in. high and with the roof having 
a less pitch than described. Divide the house into eight sections with wire netting par- 
titions and with burlap covering the lower part of the partition to a height of two feet. 
Have corresponding runs outside. Have hoppers in each section so they can be filled 
from the work room. These hoppers are to have separate compartments for corn, 
wheat and grit. Along the wall of each section and 14 in. from the floor, build four 

Page Twenty-Nine 



tiers of nests 16 in. high over all and each tier consisting of nine nests with two 
doors covered with one-inch-mesh wire netting in front of them. Have these doors 
for each tier all around the building connected with a central pull so that one bat- 
tery of nine nests in every section may be opened with one pull. The boards to 
confine the nesting material should be six inches high so that when three to four 
inches of moist earth is placed in the bottom of each nest, the nesting rnaterial will 
be held in. Under the nests in the wall have doors 14 in. square that are also opened 
and closed by a central pull. Except during the very coldest weather, these doors 
and the windows in the dome should always be open. 

Put in each nest three or four inches of moist earth, nesting material, a table- 
spoonful of lice powder, to be described later, and some nest eggs. If you have win- 
ter layers of any of the good American breeds, you will have planty of broody hens 
when you want them. Have a large crate on a truck or wheelbarrow. Take your 
"broodies" at night from the laying house to the incubation house and, dusting each 
one as you do so, put them on nests. Leave them there for thirty-six hours. On 
the morning visit, close the doors into outside runs, release one tier in each section 
and go on about your business. When you come back, put on the nest any hen that 
has not returned, close the doors to the nests and release another battery in each 
section. Continue in this manner until all the hens you have on nests have been 
fed and watered. Replace any that do not meet your requirements. As soon as the 
hens get used to their new nests, give them eggs, as many to each hen in a battery 
as the smallest hen in it can cover. As soon as you are satisfied with the behavior 
of the hens open the outside doors and allow them the freedom of the runs. This 
house will contain 288 sitting hens, which, if given iifteen eggs each, will incubate 
4,320 eggs every three weeks, and all the problems of moisture, ventilation, turning 
the eggs, filling the lamp, trimming the wick, watching the thermometer, regulating 
the temperature and the manifold other annoyances of artificial incubation will be 
attended to efficiently by the biddies if you let 'em alone and give 'em credit for 
knowing more about hatching an egg than you do. In the end, you will have strong, 
hardy chicks that will be a pleasure to raise — if your breeding stock is what it should 
be. Moreover the whole time required of you will not exceed one and one-half hours 
a day, including changing nesting material, feeding and watering, cleaning out, re- 
moving the chicks and placing the hens in the first place. 

Any special sitting may be recorded on the nest box and the resulting chicks 
toemarked. By using a toe punch for a hole and scissors for a slit in the webb and 
by combining the slit and hole, there are about eighty different idenification marks 
that may be given chicks, sufficient for all practical purposes. 

Arrange your hatches to bring off about 1,200 chicks at a time and put them in 
room brooders. The hens may be set over again or returned to the laying house or 
breeding pens. 

BROODING. 

As has been said. Efficient poultry houses are adaptable to any system of brood- 
ing. The drawings of the brooder house show preparations for hen brooding. The 
mother hen is given form twenty to thirty chicks. She should be a medium sized 
hen and not of a flighty, nervous disposition. She should be constantly confined in 
the brood box and the chicks allowed the freedom of the indoor and outdoor runs. 
As soon as the chicks are old enough to get along without being brooded, the hens 
should be removed. Feed the hens whole corn and wheat, and have drinking water 
where they can reach it through the lath grating. 

Fireless brooders may be used in the brood boxes, but a stove should be set up 
in the center of the house to take off the chill. Chicks in a natural state get warmth 
from their mother and are not called upon to give warmth to each other. Fireless 
brooders may be used successfully from the start in a warm room. 

Page Thirty 



Lamp brooders of any kind you may prefer, so long as they are good brooders, 
may also be used. Arrange dividing partitions to suit the size of your flock. 

Whatever system you use, you will find you can care for your chicks in the Ef- 
ficient brooder house with from one-third to one-tenth the labor required in any other 
style of house for the same system. 

Plate VI illustrates the conversion of a laying house into a brooder house for 
room brooders. In this 66-foot house, 10,000 chicks can be cared for with room 
brooders with as little labor as is required for 800 chicks in flocks of 50. The stand- 
ard room brooder for 1,250 chicks is 14x24 ft. and contains 336 sq. ft. of floor space. 
These divisions contain 375 sq. ft. of floor space and part of this space is out under 
the dome, where the chicks can exercise in stormy weather. The ventilation is 
perfect and freedom from drafts is assured. However, the brooder stove used should 
be one that affords a constant supply of pure fresh air and not one that is constantly 
consuming the oxygen in the air, a condition that is certain to result in debilitated 
chicks. 

FEEDING 

Poultry management consists of a chain of details that is no stronger than its 
weakest link. No one subject can be treated by itself alone in describing manage- 
ment. To discuss feeding, for example, there are numerous other conditions to be 
taken into account. We feed one way to produce table eggs, another way to pro- 
duce hatching eggs. But, whatever our purpose, let us retain our common sense and 
not insult nature with our assumed superior knowledge. 

Presuming one has a flock of five hundred layers. Is one to assume that every 
hen in the five hundred has exactly the same disposition, the same likes and dislikes, 
the same degree of health, the same activity, the same condition of internal organs, 
the same pulse and respiration, the same flow of gastric juices and, in short, the 
same identical characteristics and temperament as every other hen, not only for one 
day but for every day in the year? If this assumption seems to you to be silly, 
then justify, if you can, the balanced ration, the mash mixed according to "scien- 
tific" directions for obtaining the greatest possible egg yield from a given flock. 
When a hen has no choice in her food, when she must eat the exactly compounded 
ration prepared for her in accordance with a formula prepared by some near- 
scientist, whether she wants it or not, is there any wonder that she sometimes 
gets sick? The fact is that not only the hen, but also the little downy chick 
knows more about balancing its ration to meet its individual needs than any quasi- 
scientist or apartment house poultryman who ever contributed his wondrous wis- 
dom to the "Grit-Box" columns of certain poultry papers. Put before your fowls the 
food they need, each kind by itself, provide plenty of green stuff, fresh water, grit 
and the rest of the usual requirements and allow the poultry, young and old, to eat 
what they want when they want it. You will have less sickness, more eggs, better 
health and much less work. To have a perfectly balanced ration, one must know the 
exact analysis of every ingredient. Do you know the protein content of corn varies 
from 7% to 15.3%, of oats from 8% to 14.4%, of wheat from 8.1% to 17.2%, of bran 
from 12.1% to 18.9%, beef scraps from 36.69% to 66.81%, and other poultry foods as 
much? Then what chance have you, Mr. Poultryman, to determine a hen's needs? 
I repeat, let your poultry, young and old, eat what the want when they want it. I 
firmly believe the so-called balanced mash has set the poultry industry back several 
years and has resulted in any number of failures in all branches of the business. Do 
not be influenced by everything you see "in print." Stand on your own judgment 
once in a while. 

Does somebody say the hens will get too fat to lay? O, this too-fat-to-lay myth 
of poultry lore given to the uninitiated and the old-timers alike with all the solemnity 
and assurance of inspired wisdom ! The fact is there never was from the beginning 

Page Thirty-One 



of time a hen that was endowed with the laying quahty and that was given an op- 
portunity to eat as she wished to that got too fat to lay, although many hens have 
grown fat because they did not lay. However, when hens are selected for breeding 
stock, the provident poultryman does not wish them to lay many eggs except in the 
breeding season, so these hens must have a restricted diet. No meat scrap, no rich 
food, a little grain and a good range on which to fill up with plenty of bulky food is 
all they require until a short time before the breeding season. Young stock, how- 
ever, should have not only a good range but also an abundance of food accessible at 
all times. Layers require little range but plenty of green food and an opportunity 
to exercise. Under this method, any stock intended to be marketed as table fowl, 
may be fattened sufficiently in seven to fourteen days in a fattening pen. The writer 
has not used a balanced mash for two years and he would rather quit poultry than 
to go back to a system so unsatisfactory, laborious and illogical. 

To be specific, feed your chicks as follows: Put in separate hoppers ground 
wheat, ground oats, ground corn, ground barley. Let them have access to this food 
at all times. Feed your grain freshly ground. Grind a fresh supply of good sound 
sweet grain every week or ten days. If you have milk, give them sweet milk to drink 
if you care to bother with it. But you will get just as good results by feeding them 
granlated milk in a hopper. Beware of meat scraps for chicks. Ninety per cent of 
it is unfit for food for anything. If you can get good fresh sweet wholesome BEEF 
scraps, you can feed it without harm. Give the chicks plenty of green stuff, sprouted 
oats, potatoes and the like when the chicks can't get green food outdoors. Supply 
grit, bone meal, oyster shell and fresh water. Get the chicks on the ground as soon 
as you can. Have two runs for each flock. Plant one with oats so they will be just 
above the ground when the chicks are able to get out. When the run begins to 
get bare, sow wheat, oats and barley thick in the next run and as soon as the grain 
sprouts, before it shoots above the ground, turn in your chicks, turn up a few spade- 
fuls of the sprouted grain and the chicks will do the rest. They should have access 
to both runs until green food begins to grow in the second run, when they may be 
excluded from the first run and another sowing of grain made in it. The object should 
be for the chicks to have green food and sprouted grains all the time, in addition to 
the food in the hoppers. It is the living cells in newly sprouted seeds and grains and 
in worms and insect life that compose the food of growing chicks in their natural 
state and with these they must be provided if best results are to be obtained. The 
living cells of animal life are the most difficult to supply them, because of their cost, 
but the little raw meat required by young chicks would seem to justify feeding 
ground fresh meat occasionally when the runs are not large enough for them to ob- 
tain sufficient worms, bugs, and the like. When the cockerels and unpromising pul- 
lets are ready to be turned into broilers, they should be removed to a pen with a more 
restricted yard and fattened for the purpose. Housed in efficient poultry houses, the 
young pullets may remain in the same quarters in which they were first brooded un- 
til the completion of their first laying year and their owner is ready to dispose of 
them or until he may remove them as breeders. There is no need of moving them 
from one house to another. Considering that young stock are set back every time 
they are moved, to say nothing of the labor saved, this is no small advantage. 

Layers should be fed much the sam.e as growing chicks. They should be able 
to scratch for and obtain sprouted grains and they should have plenty of green food. 
In addition, whole and ground grains and meat scraps or their equivalent should be 
hopper fed. Using the large 66-foot laying house, the ground should be divided into 
two or more runs and they should be cultivated with a horse. There should be a 
small strip of sod along the outside of each run, and between it and the house, the 
yard should be devoted to supplying sprouted grains for which the hens will scratch, 
obtaining needed exercise. 

In the breeding season, the breeding pens should be fed the same way as layers. 

Page Thirty-Two 



In winter months, the floors in the laying and breeding sections should be covered 
with deep litter, which should always contain some of each kind of grain that is 
being fed with the possible exception of oats and barley, which may be hopper fed. 
These are the only whole grains that should be fed in hoppers when fowls are con- 
fined to their houses. Green food should be fed in V-shaped hoppers made of one- 
inch mesh wire netting and raised about a foot above the floor. 

CLEANING. 

Where one has a small house with the roosts next to the Feed and Work 
Room, droppings boards may be used. It takes only a moment to clean them and 
they add materially to a convenient arrangement, as the nests may be placed under- 
neath them. However, they are unsanitary at the best and should be used only 
when a better arrangement is impractical. On the other hand, to abolish droppings 
boards, one must have absorbents such as dry loam, land plaster, peat moss, good, 
dry meadow muck or the like. When these are used, cleaning under the roosts need 
not be done oftener than once every three or four months, and the value of the ma- 
nure will more than pay for its removal. When droppings boards are used, clean- 
ing should be done every day. The nesting material should be cut straw, so that 
soiled portions may be quickly removed without waste. The arrangement of the trap- 
nests is such that, removing them in sections, all the nesting material remains on 
the top boards of the section below and may be readily swept into a large box on a 
wheelbarrow or truck and taken outside and burned. 

LICE AND MITES. 

Sunlight is an enemy of lice and mites. Efficient poultry houses permit sun- 
light to enter every part of the house at some time during the day. But this fact alone 
is not sufficient to insure immunity. Before fowls are put in Efficient poultry houses, 
the roosts and roost supports the walls for two feet above and one below the roosts 
and the same distance on the uprights next to the roosts should be thoroughly painted 
with grease. The under side of the tops of the nests and the under side of the run- 
ning boards in front of them and around the feed hoppers, should be treated in the 
same way. Grease must not be where it will come in contact with eggs or with the 
feet of fowls just before they enter the nests. Any kind of animal fat will do. It 
should be melted and strained and to it should be added three per cent of U. S. P. 
Cresol while the grease is still in a liquid state. This Cresol is simply to kill any 
disease germs that may be in the fat. The grease should be applied in a liquid state 
with a brush. Brooder floors should also be treated this way. An application once 
a year is sufficient. 

After each hatch, the nests should be sprayed with a mixture of ten parts kero- 
sene and one part Cresol. To make a lice pov/der that is efficient, use the formula 
of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, namely, three parts gasoline mixed 
with one part Cresol and sufficient plaster of Paris to absorb the mixture. This is an 
absolutely reliable lice powder. However, it must be made fresh as required or kept 
in tightly closed receptacles. 

DISINFECTING. 

Under the most careful management, sickness will sometimes necessitate disin- 
fecting a house, and brooders and incubators should always be disinfected after being 
used, and, if any time elapses, before they are used again. The most reliable disin- 
fectant employed is Cresol soap. This preparation is easily m.ade and is then much 
cheaper than when one buys it already manufactured and pays for a trade name. 

Shave laundry soap and dissolve it in as little water as possible by heating over 
a fire. Strain it. Add an equal amount of U. S. P. Cresol. Return the mixture to 
the fire and bring to a boil, stirring the while. Remove it to the outer air and pump 
the mixture forcibly back upon itself with a spray pump for ten minutes. By this 

Page Thirty-Three 



time saponification should be complete. Cresol has three timse the strength of car- 
bolic acid. This mixture, being half Cresol, has one and one-half times the strength 
of carbolic acid. It is non-poisonous. But the Cresol is corrosive. Should any of it 
come in contact with the skin wash it off with clear water at once. 

Care should be taken to get U. S. P. Cresol. The crude commercial Cresol con- 
tains coal tar hydrocarbons and it is dangerous to have near a fire. 

A two per cent solution of this Cresol soap in water will cure an ordinary cold 
in a fowl quickly and several treatments will cure even roup if it is not too far ad- 
vanced. Put the warm. solution in a small pail or quart can and grasp the fowl's 
head with the right hand, inserting your forefinger in its beak. Immerse its head 
and swish it around in the solution for a moment, taking care not to drown the bird. 
It will appear somewhat stupid for a few moments after treatments, but will soon re- 
gain its normal condition. Improvement will be noted from the first. However, un- 
less germs are introduced from outside sources, it is not likely your fowls will ever 
be annoyed with colds in Efficient houses under Efficient management. 

A GOOD ARRANGEMENT. 

A good arrangement of Efficient Poultry Houses on a five-acre tract, that is, as 
most of them are, 330 ft. x 660 ft., is to divide the tract into two fields 330 ft. square. 
Have the dwelling house, barn, store-room, etc., on the dividing line near one side, 
and, about midway on the dividing line, build a 32-ft. Efficient house. In this house, 
put a small flock of the best winter layers you can get. Proced to establish a male 
line prepotent in the transmission of high fecundity to their offspring. When you 
know your birds and have confidence in their ability erect a 66-ft. Efficient house in 
the center of one field. Stock it with sufficient baby chicks of your own hatching 
from your own stock to produce 2,000 pullets. As they develop, cull them down to 
1,500. When they begin to lay in the fall, trapnest them. Before the next breed- 
ing season, erect another 66-ft. house in the center of the other field. Put your 
breeders in a section or two of the last house. It is the beginning of the hatching 
season and house No. 1 contains the layers and a portion of house No. 2 the breed- 
ers. You have trapnested your pullets in No. 1 sufficiently to determine the ones that 
lay in October, November and December. You have selected from them the best 
for breeders and they should be put in a section by themselves and deprived of their 
rich food, so they will not lay so many eggs as to debilitate themselves before the 
next breeding season. Having finished with your trapnests, they should be removed 
to house No. 2 and ordinary square nests put in their place. Store the trapnests in an 
unused section. 

Prepare No. 2 to receive the chicks that are about to be hatched. When the cock- 
erels and unpromising pullets of the chicks you place in No. 2 have been marketed, 
the remainder may be given the run of all unused sections and, at your leisure, you 
may install the trapnests, leaving the doors closed until about time for the pullets to 
begin laying, when the nests should be opened and cut straw placed in them. By 
this time, many of the pullets in house No. 1 are deep in molt and have ceased to lay. 
You have until the beginning of the next hatching season to dispose of the stock 
in No. 1 and, in the meantime, pullets are laying in No. 2, and the pullets you se- 
lected the fall before and put in a section in No. 1 are right where they are to be 
used as breeders. Thus, you will see, chicks are taken to an Efficient house and re- 
main there until they are disposed of as broilers, are moved to a separate section 
in the same house to be used as breeders or are finally sold at the end of the first 
laying season. By this arrangement there is no moving of chicks and growing stock 
and layers hither and thither and pullets come into laying naturally and without set 
backs of any kind. This simplification of management alone will save many hours 
of labor. 

How much time will the care of such plant require? If you will keep your stock 
for your male line separate in a small Efficient house, and if you do not wish to sell 
breeding stock, you can dispense with trapnests in the large houses and attend to 

Page Thirty-Four 



those in the small house as you pass it in your work, provided you visit them once 
every two hours. If you wish the rewards that are your due as a producer of hen- 
hatched heavy winter layers, you will need to trapnest all your pullets every winter 
and will have to employ an assistaht all the year, because of the burden of correspond- 
ence and other details incident to selling ^rst-class breeding stock. As a commercial 
plant, however, the actual care of the poultry on it will be somewhat as follows: 

In the early fall some of the layers will always be confined in a section to be 
fattened for market. Feeding these hens will require one hour a day until all are 
disposed of. At the same time, your layers will have to be cared for. But as they 
will be hopper fed until November 1st and have water piped to them, about the only 
time they will require of you is to fill hoppers and gather the eggs. To fill the hop- 
pers leisurely will require two hours every two weeks. To gather the eggs and put 
them in cases will require an hour each day. You will be getting some eggs from 
the hens you are fattening and to gather these and attend to incidental work, includ- 
ing that just mentioned, will keep you busy for about three hours a day. 

In a little while, however, the hatching season will begin. The house intended 
for the chicks will have to be cleaned out thoroughly, disinfected and greased as di- 
rected under the heading "Lice and Mites." The cleaning out, however, may be done 
one section at a time by putting in a partition and moving it forward as the hens are 
disposed of and, finally, the floor may be thoroughly washed with a hose, the whole 
house sprayed with a two per cent solution of Cresol soap and parts of it greased. 
In the meantime, winter has set in and your layers are confined to the other house. 
They will have to be fed green food and grain once a day, which will require one hour 
of your time. When eggs are in incubation and chicks are in the brooders, will be 
your busiest time. Looking after sitting hens will require one hour and a half, look- 
ing after layers, two hours, and your chicks can have as much of the rest of your 
time as you see fit to give them. As they will be confined most of the time during 
very early spring, they will have to be fed green stuff, and be given chick food in 
the litter to keep them occupied and contented. When they can get to the green 
food outside, all they will require of you is to look after the brooder stove, clean out 
their rooms, and keep their hoppers supplied. 

You should have a small power mill to grind their food, but this will have to be 
done only once a week at the most, and will require very little of your time as you 
will not screen the ground grain, but feed it meal, hulls, large pieces and all, ex- 
cept when chicks are confined, when the fine particles only should be fed in hoppers 
and the coarse particles in the litter. 

You will doubtless plant your five acres in fruit unless it is already planted when 
you get it. The fowls will keep down the weeds and will fertilize the soil. Sprout- 
ing grains in their yards will require very little more work than is necessary to cul- 
tivate the fruit properly in the absence of chickens. But, even charging this to your 
poultry, you will never have to give them over six hours a day on an average during 
the very busiest season and during the summer when your early chicks are well ad- 
vanced three hours for layers and growing stock will be more than ample. 

There are, of course, many modifications of the arrangement suggested that will 
occur to many persons. For instance, one large house can be used, for som.e time 
by devoting some of the sections to layers, some to chicks and growing stock and 
some to breeders. The above arrangement is proposed to give one tangible ideas of 
the little time required to manage poultry efficiently in Efficient poultry houses. 

One may expect a profit of from $1 to $1.50 per hen under methods of manage- 
ment at present employed by poultrymen in general. Under the system advocated 
in this book, these profits would be materially increased and the labor required would 
be reduced to a fraction of what has heretofore been deemed necessary. The poul- 
tryman who is able to build a strain of heavy winter layers, will find a reward far 
in excess of $1.50 per hen and he will enjoy, in addition, the independence and ro- 
bust health that come naturally to prosperous men who live in the open, get the feel 
of the soil and become acquainted with things that live and grow. 

Page Thirty-Five 



m 



\9\» 



No. 



WINTER LAY NG 




'J:-5at:M 



WHITL BIRD FARM 



Manette, Washington, 

May 15, 1913. 

THIS IS TO CERTIFY That the purchaser of 

this book, whose order, bearing the same number as 

above, is on tile in the office of White Bird Farm, 

Manette, Washington, is entitled to build for his own 

use any or all appliances described in this book, now 

or after patents may be issued, but that he may not 

transfer this right without written permission of the 

undersigned. This book is accepted by the purchaser 

on these terms. 

WHITE BIRD FARM, 

By G. J. Simmonds, Prop. 




QUESTIONS. 

Any question pertaining to Efficient 
poultry houses will be answered by the 
author provided the question is written so 
it may be replied to in a few words on the 
same sheet of paper on which it is written 
and if it is accompanied by an envelope 
stamped and addressed. 

The number of letters coming each day 
to White Bird Farm, makes these restric- 
tions necessary, however much the author 
would prefer to reply at length. 



